Almajiri boy found inside bush after mother abandoned him to marry lover
Story from Hamzat Ibrahim ABAGA
An eight-year-old Almajiri boy, Abubakar Yahaya, has been found after he was abandoned by his family and left to fend for himself in a bush in the Bako area of Kaduna metropolis.
The plight of young Abubakar was revealed in a video posted on Facebook by AGG Multimedia Services.
According to the video, the young boy’s tragic journey began when his mother remarried after the death of his father.
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Yahaya opened up about how his family deserted him and enrolled him in an Almajiri School, where he faced insurmountable demands from his teacher. Unable to meet the teacher’s requirement for rice and money, Yahaya was left with no choice but to seek shelter in the bush.
“I am not scared of anything in this bush. Allah is there to protect me,” the resilient young boy affirmed. Describing his situation, he explained, “My teacher said I must bring rice and money before I can stay in the school, and I don’t have any means to provide them. So I decided to relocate here.”
Yahaya’s mother had remarried in Jos, Plateau State, leaving him under the care of his maternal grandmother. However, his grandmother claims that he refused to stay with her, leading him to the precarious life he now lives.
“He was brought to me when he was six. That was when his mother remarried. He stays at the Almajiri School now,” his grandmother clarified.
The grandmother said she wasn’t aware of Yahaya’s current residence in the bush.
Another woman, referred to as Matan Malam, revealed that she took the responsibility of caring for Yahaya because his grandmother was unable to do so. Despite struggling to provide for her own orphans, Matan decided to take him in and offer him a safe haven.
Expressing concern over the situation, a resident urged concerned authorities to intervene and provide assistance to the child. Another however criticised Yahaya’s parents, particularly his mother, for leaving him in such dire circumstances.
Thankfully, the determined efforts of the Kaduna-based not-for-profit organisation, Zulhat Foundation, came to Yahaya’s rescue on August 4. Founder Aisha Abubakar shared that they were informed about his situation and visited his grandmother to assess it firsthand.
“We confirmed that the grandmother has been negligent about the condition of the boy,” Abubakar revealed. “He has been roaming about on his own for a long time. We also confirmed that the Almajiri School where he was enrolled was also negligent, with the teacher forcing the students to find their own food every day.”
Following their investigation, the grandmother was taken into custody by the Nigeria Civil Defense Commission for further questioning. It was later discovered that she is not Yahaya’s biological grandmother. Despite promises from Yahaya’s relatives in Port Harcourt to come and help, no one has shown up to assist him, including his mother.
Abubakar confirmed that Yahaya is now under the care of an orphanage home overseen by the Ministry of Humanitarian Service and Social Development. She reassured that he is being well taken care of and expressed relief that they were able to locate him.
Abubakar emphasized the dangers Yahaya faced while wandering the streets and expressed gratitude that he is now in a safe environment.
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